When the ordinance was introduced on March 20, Kane was absent. However, the remaining four borough officials voted to move the ordinance forward.

“There are too many unknowns,” Kane said at Wednesday’s meeting, “The borough has already collected about $100,000 in fees.” And, if passed, the borough would have to figure out a way to reimburse the residents who already paid for the permits, she said.

The borough also stands to gain upwards of another $300,000 in permit fees, she said, “that’s $400,000 in our budget cycle.”

The cost of the permits vary with each application. The basic reconstruction permit fee for some of the permits are: $20 per $1,000 of the estimated costs; $150 for demolition; $40 to install a satellite dish or radio transmitter; $75 to remove lead; $75 to remove asbestos; and $50 for electrical, which does not include additional electrical fees for hot water heaters, and washers and dryers.

Throughout the public session, residents balked at the idea of free permit fees.

“My insurance company gave me money toward my permit fees,” John Urbanski said. “If I got free fees then I’d be pocketing the money, you, the borough, would never know.”

And, for most residents, the question was who and how was money lost going to be made up.

“It was in the spirit to help the residents,” Nolan said, referring to his vote and to the free permits fees.“There would have been no reason for a resident to do any work without a permit — it was free,” Nolan said. By having a permit, all construction phases would have been inspected and up to code.